Raw tape #31 for Vito Marzullo. City Council with Vito wired #1. The tape follows Vito Marzullo through the first part of a typical day at City Hall. Though most of the tape consists of Vito sitting at his desk or walking through the halls, it does catch a few hushed conversations about business deals and proof of the patronage system at work in Chicago.

00:00Copy video clip URL During a slow morning in his City Hall office, Marzullo sits at his desk, makes phone calls and reads papers. Sifting through the piles of work blanketing his desk, he even takes a jab at the video crew, saying, “You fellas ever get all these goddamn things over here, you go to the nuthouse within a week.”

08:04Copy video clip URL A young woman visits Marzullo, who asks her when she’ll get married. When she says that she’s 22, and that maybe she’ll get married in five years, Marzullo announces, “In five years you’ll be an old lady! You’re going to lose five years of your life!” Marzullo returns to quiet office work.

11:58Copy video clip URL Marzullo leaves his office and heads to another part of City Hall, turning on the charm to greet acquaintances along the way. Because of the video crew, he jokes that he’s “going to Hollywood.”

16:20Copy video clip URL Another alderman preps Marzullo on the plan for that afternoon’s city council meeting, during which the councilmen will give speeches praising Mayor Michael Bilandic’s first year in office. “What the hell am I gonna say? I ain’t got nothing to say,” Marzullo says bluntly (and ironically, in light of the glowing praise Marzullo heaps upon the Mayor during his moment to speak, caught on camera in raw tape #32).

16:42Copy video clip URL A man approaches Marzullo about a transportation issue, which Marzullo dismisses because he doesn’t know the people involved. Before he leaves, the man drops his voice and whispers something to Marzullo about a “chief” being the “winning bidder.” Marzullo continues to schmooze with his colleagues.

20:11Copy video clip URL Greeting other aldermen with a “Hello aldie,” Marzullo talks business briefly with other politicians. We catch a real-life glimpse of the patronage system at work when one alderman asks about job openings and another man replies, “Only if they’re typists.”

21:15Copy video clip URL Marzullo enters the city council chambers, making deals and conducting a hushed conversation with a commissioner along the way.